125mph Tesla Roadster solves electric car performance deficiency
by Stevie Smith - Aug 22 2008, 14:00
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For the record, Tesla Motors is based in San Carlos California. The company uses the chasis from British made Lotus, but Tesla is an American company. Tesla plans on building a manufacturing facility here in the US, probably in California.
Tesla Motors is an American Company based in California.
www.teslamotors.com
Tesla cars are largely manufacturerd abroad, not in California.
The problem with Tesla is the same old problem wiht battery-only electriic cars - they are too expensive, their batteries cost way too much (the Tesla Battery pack won't last over 5 years and costs $30,000),
take way too long to recharge (4 hours for the Tesla) and have a driving radius that is typically less than 100 miles. That won't reach very many destinations, making this car strictly a second car that can only handle local trips. I couldn't even make it to the nearest city, at least not if I expect to drive it back home. A FAR better alternative is the Fisker Karma, a better looking, fast 2+2 plug-in hybrid with 50 miles of electric driving range, followed by unlimited range using a engine driven electrical generator getting 50 MPG. And it will cost tens of thousands less, while able to carry three times as many passengers as the overpriced, impractical Tesla. And yes, it can avoid well over 97% of gasoline and emissions as a commuter and around town driver, insignificantly worse than the tesla,and can avoid a whole lot more of both than the Tesla when travelling to destinations over 100 miles away, which the Tesla cannot reach. The Tesla, despite the silly hype, is a can't-do vehicle tht proves that Hollywood is full of morons desperate to greenwash their image, irregardless of price.
Geographical error corrected. Many thanks.
Kerry Bradshaw- ouch, a little harsh on the Tesla-but your arguments are very valid-a lot of hype, no way practical, too expensive etc.-got it, you're very right. That Fisker Karma is really cool-never seen that before. A plug-in hybrid is a great compromise to straight electric for sure. Still waiting to see if the electric fuel cell concept pans out. I'm surprised no manufacturer has developed a diesel hybrid that can run on bio-diesel, and make it a plug-in and the green factor goes up even more.
Methinks Ms. Bradshaw doth protest too much.
Some people had the disposable income and the inclination to buy the first mobile phones or the first plasma screens or iPods etc etc. If you want to buy a Roadster, that's fine. Unlike the Karma, it's been co-engineered with Lotus. It has some respectable sports car DNA. If not, wait and see.
Kerry fails to mention that Tesla Motors will shortly be announcing their next, cheaper model. It will be another pure electric and will gain from the company's experiences of making the Roadster.
A range of 200 miles is fine in Europe. Most daily journeys that you would want to make in a two-seater sports car fall far below this range anyway.
So what if it takes 3 hours to fully recharge from empty? If you've just travelled 200 miles, would you really insist on a shorter turn around before setting off on another 200 mile journey? If you're travelling across country, just take longer over lunch. This isn't rocket science.
At the cheap rate of 5p per kWh, the Roadster will cost around £1,500 in electricity for 100,000 miles of motoring (assuming you achieve the average mileage of 220 miles from each). After 100,000 miles the battery pack will be down to about 80% capacity. You can choose to replace it if you wish.
However, if petrol is £1:15 per litre and your car gets 35mpg then the same 100,000 miles of motoring will cost about £14,900 in petrol. So if you are counting your pennies a replacement battery pack needs to be £13,000 or less to still be ahead on the deal.
But then how many traditional cars which give you 35mpg can also do 0-60mph in 3.9 seconds and stay cheaper on maintenance?
How much is an new clutch for a Porsche these days? (The Tesla has no clutch)
I thought the cost price of a Tesla was $109,000 not £92,000 and of course it is manufactured I believe all over the place. I believe the UK has a competitor to the Tesla but costs £125,000 which figures of course for the UK. The EV is moving forwards nicely and we should all want to come out from under the domination of the Oil producing countries and the Oil companies. It seems to me that when someone sneezes in the Middle East the price of petrol starts going up. Well done Tesla and I hear you have taken the backward step of appearing on Tog Gear no use to you whatsoever.
I smile to myself every time I read a British journalist describe the Tesla Roadster as a British car. I also smile when I read an indignant American commenter 'correct' the journalist and point out that the car is really American. The truth is that the Tesla Roadster has a supply chain which spans the globe. The 3 phase, 4 pole, AC induction motor is built in Taiwan, the individual Li ion cells in the ESS (battery pack) are made in Japan. Until recently the ESS was assembled in Thailand, now assembly is supposed to be shifting to California. The bonded extruded aluminum chassis is built in Norway. The carbon fibre body is from France. The brakes and airbags are from Germany. The transmission and PEM (power electronics module) are manufactured in the United States.
Assembly of the car is started in Hethel, Norfolk, England, at the Lotus factory. Lotus is a contract manufacturer which assembles a 'glider' (a car without a motor, transmission, PEM, and ESS) which is then shipped (or flown) to San Carlos, California, where final assembly takes place. Final assembly involves adding the motor/transmission, PEM, and battery pack (ESS). The powertrain was designed in California, the bodywork was designed, under contract, by Barney Hatt, who originally worked for Lotus.
Success has many fathers. When a product, such as the Tesla Roadster, is embraced enthusiastically by consumers, everybody wants to claim credit for the concept, or the design, or the manufacturing, etc.
Personally, the individual who I believe deserves the most credit for bringing the Tesla Roadster into the world is Martin Eberhard. Eberhard came up with the original idea for a high end electric production roadster. He built the company, found the financing, brought the necessary engineers and designers together, he even worked on many of the engineering problems (including the ESS, motor, and PEM) alongside the teams of engineers he had assembled. Unfortunately, a week or so before the official media roll-out of the Roadster, the biggest investor in the company, Elon Musk, orchestrated a coup in the board room, and had Eberhard kicked out of the company that he had built. Musk had Eberhard's (and co-founder Marc Tarpenning's) pictures taken down from the front entrance to Tesla Motors headquarters in San Carlos, California, and since that time has attempted to remove any trace of Eberhard or Tarpenning's contribution to the development of the Roadster. Apparently, Musk wanted to take credit for the car himself.
BTW, Kerry Bradshaw, aka Kent Beuchert, aka Kerry Biker, aka 'the bike', aka K Rider, etc. is a shill who works for big oil, and attempts to spread as much disinformation and confusion about electric vehicles as he/she can. If you don't believe me, do a google search on it's name, and find out for yourself.
Adding noise makers to hybrid electric cars is already in a bill before the USA Congress, HR 5734, we call 'Bell the Hybrid Act.' There has been one hearing and the public record is available:
www.regulations.gov - search
NHTSA-2008-0108-0020 - the hybrid pedestrian accident rate
In 5 years of available traffic data, the Prius has the same pedestrian accident rate as ordinary cars. Out of 4,700 pedestrians killed every year, only 5 are blind and not one has been killed by a Prius, yet. Adding sound generators just continues their current, equal pedestrian accident rate.
I notice that 'Lotus' does not sell a hybrid but actually competes against hybrid electric sellers. If HR 5734 passes, a whole class of vehicles, hybrid electrics, would become illegal. Funny how that works out. Unable to compete in efficiency or quiet power, they go with this nonsense.
The Tesla is a marvel of technology well beyond anything Lotus sells today. But for now, I'm content with my ordinary, 52 MPG Prius, one of the earliest sold and quite economical and affordable.
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malAug 22nd, 2008 - 15:52:09
It is depressing that the focus of all of RoSPAs road safety campaigns over the years has only been on drivers: (search the RoSPA site for road safety campaigns)
Pedestrians are not mindless sheep. They are responsible for their own safety. Whatever happened to the Green Cross Code?
Now Mr Vernon's 'solution' to the welcome reduction in traffic noise pollution from quieter luxury cars, hybrids and EVs is to insist that they are made noisier and that noise pollution is now necessary.
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